Mixing the Bitter With the Sweet
by backinthebox
Summary: It was supposed to be a Bellas captains meeting, for Beca to become initiated with the responsibilities she now held as the Barden Bellas' captain. Except...
1. Chapter 1

It was supposed to be a Bellas captains meeting, for Beca to become initiated with the responsibilities she now held as the Barden Bellas' captain, including the student organization activities she would have to attend as representative of the Bellas. Which, honestly, she thought was an exaggeration, since she never once heard of Aubrey or Chloe attending any meetings whatsoever. And even though she still thought being named captain was unnecessary — Jessica, for one, seemed to have better working knowledge of a cappella than she did, and Denise was an incoming junior, so she technically had seniority by virtue of age — but Aubrey and Chloe had made the decision, and Beca figured she could just hand over the reins when the new school year started and the two would never have to know.

Beca arrived at the gym that served as their rehearsal space, and frowned in confusion when she found it locked. Seriously, those two decided to haze her now?

"You're late."

Beca turned, and saw Aubrey leaning against a nearby tree, a thick binder peeking out from the book bag Aubrey had slung over her shoulder. "Uh, yeah." She pointed at the closed gym doors. "Did you forget the key, or–?"

"We're not using the gym today."

"Okay…?" Beca frowned. "So where are we going?"

"Come along." Aubrey ignored her question, and pushing away from her post, walked back to the direction Beca had just come from. Beca groaned in exasperation, and followed.

She was pretty sure Aubrey was taking large strides just to annoy her. "Uh, so where's Chloe?"

"Chloe's not coming." Aubrey said curtly, as they turned right at one of the main avenues in campus, and approached the coffee cart near the arts building. She smiled at the server and placed an order, in easily the most polite and friendly tone of voice Beca had ever heard from the blonde. Aubrey turned to her. "Do you want coffee?"

"Sure." Beca shrugged. It was the middle of the afternoon in the early days of summer — in _Georgia_ — but she was going to need something to occupy her hands and mouth, if she had to spend time with Aubrey. Worst case, she could throw the cup at the blonde's head. She turned to the server. "Black."

The silence that followed was awkward, the two of them not bothering with small talk, as they stood waiting for their cups of coffee. When it was served, Beca reached for her pockets when Aubrey cut her off by paying for both their cups to the man. Then they continued on their way.

Beca hesitated, and took a sip from her cup. She had to admit, it wasn't nearly as bad as she expected, and it was a great improvement from the usual sludge around campus. To break the icy silence, she brokered, "this is good."

"Yeah, Pete knows how to brew a great cup." Aubrey agreed, far more friendlier in tone than when they had met at the gym, sipping her own cold drink. "It's a major detour to the Business and Economics building, but worth it."

Beca glanced at her. "You're a business major?"

"And Economics." Aubrey confirmed. She led them through a narrow path between the arts and media buildings and through a partially-neglected garden, momentarily worrying Beca that Aubrey was leading her to her certain doom, but they eventually emerged at the part of campus that Beca recognized as the student organizations' residences.

Beca glanced behind her at where they had passed, which was disguised from this side with the leaf covering of several large plants. "A shortcut."

Aubrey hummed.

Beca frowned at Aubrey. "That's always been there?"

"Most people think the garden's locked up, but they removed the gate some time ago." Aubrey told her, continuing to walk along the sidewalk.

"And you know about it how?"

Aubrey glanced at her. "I've been here for four years. I wasn't always just in the library or gym, you know."

No, Beca wouldn't know, because that's all Aubrey ever portrayed her life as: academics, and the Bellas. None of them even knew if Aubrey dated.

They continued walking, finally ending up on a quiet corner of the line of fraternity and sorority houses, at a white house with a dark blue roof and window shutters, a large B in familiar script on the front. It looked well-kept, if a little abandoned, and Beca revisited her "certain doom" theory. She slowed her steps as Aubrey walked up the front lawn, which had probably seen better days, and needed better upkeep.

"What is this?"

"What does it look like?"

Beca's gaze fell on the encircled B at the front of the house, and frowned. "I don't get it."

Aubrey glanced up at the house, and turned to Beca. "Did you think the Treblemakers are the only a cappella group with a house?"

"Sort of, yeah."

Aubrey sighed, because she was probably to blame for that misconception. "The Bellas have a house."

"And we haven't used it the whole year because—?"

"Because administration threatened to take it away from us if we failed to make it to the finals, and I didn't want to give something and fail and have it taken away." Aubrey explained. "You all hated me enough."

"We didn't hate you." Beca said quickly.

Aubrey gave her a skeptical glance.

"I mean, you weren't our best friend, or anything, but it's not like we actively wished you dead." Beca said in reassurance. She frowned, realizing that what she'd said wasn't actually too convincing. "Can we go back to the part where the Bellas have a house?"

Aubrey nodded, and motioned for Beca to join her at the front door. As Beca approached, Aubrey found the keys to the door, and opened it.

Beca frowned at the lack of mustiness. "It's clean."

"I've been paying the gardener to air it out sometimes, and make sure jerk-faced frat boys haven't been using it as their boudoir." Aubrey explained, handing the keys to Beca. "I guess these are yours now." She stepped into the house, and turned to face Beca as the younger girl walked into the entryway.

"There are five bedrooms, and a third floor loft that you can use for whatever purpose. Furnished kitchen, fireplace, three bathrooms: first floor, second floor, master bedroom."

Beca decided that if being a future candidate for Forbes' Most Powerful Women list didn't pan out, Aubrey had a future in real estate. "Why is there a master bedroom?"

"Usually for the Bellas captain, but some captains have shared the room previously, so it's really up to you." Aubrey informed her.

"Did you ever live here?" Beca asked curiously.

Aubrey shook her head. "We used to have greater numbers, until Alice became our captain last year, and even if technically, they had the space, she hated me — and by extension Chloe — with a passion, and we knew moving in would have been a death wish."

"And this year?"

Aubrey sighed. "After pukegate, I didn't deserve to stay here. And Chloe wouldn't move in without me, and then administration told me they could take it away, so we just…" Aubrey let her voice trail off.

Beca paused. "Where _is_ Chloe? Shouldn't she be here for this, too?"

Aubrey glanced at her. "No."

Beca stiffened at the iciness in Aubrey's tone, something she'd never heard when related to Chloe.

"The basement is… suspect, I've been told, but I had an exterminator check it out so there shouldn't be anything living down there." Aubrey continued, as if she hadn't just cut down the very topic of Chloe.

Beca hesitated, trying to decide on whether or not to push, and took a deep breath, gathering every bit of bravery she had. "Why isn't Chloe here?"

"I don't know, Beca, as I was saying–"

"Aubrey." Beca interrupted.

"I don't really want to talk about it, especially with you."

Beca acknowledged that point, but: "I know we've never gotten along, but I'm asking, as a friend, and as someone who actually cares: What's wrong?"

"Can we please just finish this?"

"Aubrey."

Aubrey shook her head, her expression impossible for Beca to read, before she turned on her heel and marched off to the kitchen. After a moment's hesitation, Beca slowly followed the older Bella into the adjacent room, where Aubrey was standing by the kitchen island, the binder on the counter in front of her while she had both arms out, hands flat on the surface, as if holding herself up. When Beca entered the room, her head snapped up, and she focused on the smaller girl.

"Chloe's not graduating."

Beca stopped, confused. "What? Why?"

"I don't know why!" Aubrey snapped, as if that was the crux of the matter. "She won't talk to me, I can't talk to her without wanting to force the issue, and now we live together without even saying more than polite phrases at a time."

"Take it easy," Beca suggested, holding her hands out in a calming gesture. "Why won't she talk to you?"

"Because she knows how I'm reacting to it." Aubrey laughed bitterly. "Because it's not like we made all these elaborate plans on what we were gonna do after we graduate."

"Not to be a pain, but you can still do all those things."

"That's not the point."

No, Beca didn't think so. Aubrey was a stickler for plans, and from what she could tell, really only counted Chloe as her friend. And Chloe had withstood a whole year of Aubrey's particular brand of psychosis, and they had all seen how she stood by Aubrey, no matter what. But she also wasn't afraid to confront the blonde if she felt like she had no other choice. The fact that Chloe was avoiding Aubrey and avoiding the issue spoke of something greater than Beca could understand.

Beca fidgeted, because she had no idea what to tell Aubrey.

Aubrey sighed, and pushed the binder across the island in Beca's direction. "Everything you need to know is here. The by-laws, the rules governing the Bellas' status as a student organization, the rules and regulations of maintaining independent status from school administration — so they won't ever get to dictate song choices — and the list of sponsors and bank accounts for every Bella need."

"Bank accounts?" Beca repeated.

Aubrey nodded wearily. "Bella alumni set up funding, in case someone needs emergency money for tuition or an accident, or whatever."

"Like bail?" Beca asked pointedly, still sore about the fact that _Jesse_ had called _her father_ to bail her out when she'd gotten arrested after Regionals.

Aubrey at least had the decency to look apologetic. "We have to answer to alumni what happens to the money, and I didn't want to have to explain bail money." She shrugged. "We really try not to touch it, so you'll still need to come up with fundraising ideas. You can't take corporate sponsorship, or else you'll be recognized as professional, and be disqualified from collegiate a cappella, and the school will have to disband the Barden Bellas, so I know it'll get tempting, but don't do it."

Beca flipped through the pages of the binder with trepidation. She paused at a page. "The ICCAs have a national tour?"

Aubrey winced. She'd forgotten about that. "You'll need to talk to Donald about that. He organizes the tour for the Treblemakers, so he'll know more about it than anything in that binder. I've already given Gail your number, she should be in touch soon."

Beca looked up at her. "What about you?"

Aubrey looked confused. "What about me?"

"Dude, just because you're graduating doesn't mean you stop being a part of the group."

"In this case it does." Aubrey corrected. "I got a job offer, a few weeks ago. I'm starting a week after graduation."

Beca stopped, recognizing that moment for what it was. It wasn't just Aubrey turning the reins over to the new Bellas captain, or discussing Beca's new responsibilities as head of the Bellas or the new Bellas household.

Aubrey was saying goodbye, and she was only saying it to Beca. Like she had deliberately chosen that moment to part company with the Bellas, and there were only two of them present for it. And whatever was going on between her and Chloe was bad enough that she hadn't thought to include Chloe in the proceedings.

"You can't just leave." Beca argued. "You have to at least give the rest of us the opportunity to say goodbye."

"I'm _graduating_. It's not like my departure is breaking news." Aubrey pointed out.

"That's not the point."

"Beca." Aubrey sighed tiredly. "I got closure at the ICCAs. I won with my friends, with Chloe beside me, and we won it over the Treblemakers. It's fine." When she saw that Beca looked torn on whether or not to concede defeat, and undecided on how the rest of the Barden Bellas were going to react, Aubrey took a moment, and glanced around the kitchen.

She used to spend a lot of time in this house, back when she had been a freshman, the captain at the time had been a font of information regarding the Bellas, and she had found a rapt audience in Aubrey. They used to discuss song selections here, and it had been here that the older Bellas had taught Aubrey the fundamentals of how to break down a song into its individual parts and make it come together as an a cappella number. When those girls had graduated, the next two sets of senior Bella members had been more into their cliques, especially the group led by Alice, and whatever desire Aubrey may have ever had about living in the Bella house had faded since. Now, however, she glanced around the kitchen and paused, reminiscing and partly regretting never have lived in it. Her gaze fell upon one corner of the kitchen cabinets, and after a moment's hesitation, walked over to one of the lower shelves, pulled the door open and pulled out a cart, pulling it all the way out.

At the very end, taped against the wood panel, dusty and old, was a dark bottle.

"Dude." Beca stared at Aubrey. "That's magical."

"You might get that farewell party for me, after all." Aubrey noted. She picked up the bottle, and examined it. She lifted an eyebrow. "You should probably call the others."

Beca was confused, but for once in her Barden Bellas life, she actually did what Aubrey told her to.

Aubrey placed the bottle on the island counter, and when she found a moist towelette from her bag, used it to wipe the dust from the bottle.

"How did you know there was booze in there?" Beca asked, intrigued. And was there more booze around the house, because that would be awesome.

"The Bellas captain when we were freshmen used to tell us about this one captain, who was determined that one day the Bellas were going to win collegiate a cappella. She was the one who got the Bellas qualified for the ICCAs — I think it was called something else at the time — who put together the chart and game plan on how to win… despite the obvious handicap of lacking a good bass sound." Aubrey related. "Anyway. She was so sure that the Bellas could win, and supposedly, she bought this bottle of champagne, which they were going to open when they won."

Beca glanced at the bottle, at the label that made it known it wasn't champagne.

"They didn't win." Aubrey pointed out. "And after losing in the semifinals, they drank the champagne just to get rid of the reminder of how they didn't make it to the finals." She turned, and motioned for Beca to follow her. Opening a cupboard, she handed Beca several shot glasses, then taking a few more on her own, carried them to the sink to wash. "Wash these."

Beca resented the command, but did it anyway, even as she wondered why a sorority house had shot glasses.

"Over the next few… days, maybe weeks, she read articles on how and why all-female a cappella groups can't win, and she bought a bottle of malt whiskey, something that ages." Aubrey continued. "She knew it was an uphill battle, but she had this goal, and she had this plan, and she figured, maybe it won't happen during her captaincy, but she had this belief that it could happen, and that the Bellas could do it."

"This is a story they just tell incoming freshmen Bellas?" Beca asked.

Aubrey shook her head. "No, Laura was like an encyclopedia of Bellas knowledge. She knew its origins and history, the myths and legends of the Bellas that came before. Her mom was a Bella, too. She was literally a Bella Legacy." She sat down at the counter, and regarded the bottle. "To be honest, a lot of us thought it was a myth, an urban legend. When we made the finals last year, Alice was determined to find this bottle."

"So how did you know it was there?" Beca motioned to the cart where the bottle had been taped onto.

"It seemed like the obvious place." Aubrey admitted. "It would have required knowledge of how a kitchen works, and Alice was notorious for not doing her share of the chores."

"Okay, that Alice sounds like a bitch, why didn't you just impeach her?" Beca asked.

Aubrey gave her a look. "Because you respect the choice of the captains that came before you. That's the rule. They obviously saw something in her that made her worthy of leading the Bellas, and we had to abide by that decision."

"Even if she didn't like you? Or Chloe?" Beca questioned. "And, really? Who doesn't like Chloe? Did this Alice girl kick puppies in her free time?"

Aubrey shrugged. She really had nothing to say in Alice's defense.

"And just listening to you talk about her is making my skin crawl, how could you have taken that for an entire year?" Beca asked.

"Because you decide to do a better job." Aubrey sighed. "A lot of the Bellas quit before we even reached the semifinals last year. At the end, the only ones left who weren't going to graduate were me and Chloe, and…" She glanced away, deep in thought, before she turned back to Beca. "You have to understand: not everyone was like Alice. But teams take on the character of their leaders, and Chloe and I weren't immune to that. But we knew we could be better." She laughed wryly. "At least Chloe held up her side of that agreement."

"You weren't so bad." Beca offered feebly. Off Aubrey's skeptical glance, Beca acquiesced, "I mean, we all know it could actually have been worse, you know? We're all still passing our subjects, and we're all still _here_ , so you didn't drive us into dropping out." She opened her mouth to say something more, thought the better of it, and fell silent, bringing the washed shot glasses to the island.

Aubrey tilted her head to the side, and regarded the smaller girl thoughtfully.

Something about this girl had irked her all year long, and for all her posturing and dismissive attitude towards the freshman, Aubrey knew exactly why she had been so reluctant to listen to Beca.

Because Beca understood music in a way Aubrey never really could, and probably never would. Aubrey could break down a song into its individual parts, and put them back together, but Beca could take a piece of music and turn it into something else. Some would even argue that she could turn it into something _better_. But to acknowledge that fact, to bring attention to it, would have given the freshman free reign to do what she wanted with the Bellas, and for a long time Aubrey didn't trust that Beca was with the Bellas for the long haul: how could she trust something as important as the Bellas to someone who always seemed to have one foot out the door?

But even after Aubrey had driven her away, forced her out of the Bellas, Beca had come back.

Not quite groveling and begging, but the fact of the matter was that Beca had chosen to come back, and had chosen to stay.

"You're going to have to be better, you know."

Beca looked confused.

"When you're captain." Aubrey reiterated. "You're champions now, the team to beat. It'll be easy to screw up. Maybe you'll get complacent, or one or all of you will start thinking the way I did, that it's all about the finals, and forget you have to go through all the earlier rounds first. Or you'll set higher and higher goals for yourselves that you'll forget what's important." She gave Beca a weak smile. "You're the captain now, Beca. Whatever it is you think that makes you good at this, at being a Bella? You'll have to be even better. And you can't screw up."

Beca looked up at the blonde, and when their eyes met, she nodded.

She didn't know how, but she had the feeling that Aubrey had given her that speech with the specific intent of reminding Beca that she was handing over care of the Bellas to _Beca_. Not Denise, not Jessica, not any of the other girls who made up their ragtag group of friends. Aubrey was trusting _her_ with the Bellas legacy.

Aubrey glanced at her watch, frowned at the utter tardiness of the Barden Bellas, and opened the bottle. She poured out two shots, and handed one to Beca.

Beca took the glass, and sniffed the drink, almost recoiling at the strength of the alcohol. Her eyes widened. "That's strong."

Aubrey smiled — a sinister smile that Beca didn't like, didn't trust, and didn't know Aubrey was even capable of — and raised her glass. "To the Bellas that have come before."

Beca winced, already feeling the burn that she hadn't even drank yet. "Bellas for life."

They finished the shot, Beca shaking her head at the drink that went straight to her system, nearly gagging at the unfamiliar burn. She frowned at Aubrey, who had barely reacted. "Are you a machine?"

Aubrey grinned. "I'm from the South, Beca. Consumption tolerance is a real thing."

Beca groaned, even as she pushed her glass back towards Aubrey. "I take it back. I think I hate you again."


	2. Chapter 2

"What does this mean, we're an independent student organization?" Ashley asked, looking up from her reading of the binder that listed the Bellas' by-laws and restrictions. A group of them had migrated from the kitchen, after the original round of whiskey shots and various other drinks, and now settled on the couches that surrounded the fireplace, while Amy, Cynthia Rose and Lilly went to get snacks… and probably more alcohol.

Aubrey, who was examining her half-empty shot glass — was she on her fifth, or sixth shot? — looked up at the dark-haired freshman, seated on the couch perpendicular to the one she was on. "The Bellas only exist in the Barden system as a student organization, governing the group, but your activities as the Bellas are separate from your activities as students."

"Meaning?" Jessica asked from beside Ashley.

"You can run around naked onstage and they can't suspend you for misconduct." Aubrey decided to take the shot, but really should have another bottle of water to dilute the amount of alcohol she was consuming, Southern constitution or not. At least she had stuck to the whiskey, unlike some of the other girls who had decided to mix their drinks; and someone had ordered pizza earlier, which had done its part to start absorbing the alcohol. "But they can choose to disband the Bellas anytime they want."

Beside Aubrey, Denise pointed at the binder. "You've read that whole thing?"

"I had to." Aubrey blinked, startled, when a plastic bottle of water appeared in front of her, and she followed the arm that held the bottle to see Stacie, who smiled down at her. She took the bottle, smiling her thanks, and set aside her shot glass to take a drink of water. "There was a quiz."

"There's a quiz?" Beca protested in alarm. She turned to Chloe with a worried frown. "Is it a surprise quiz, because I hate those."

"Alice hated Aubrey. _Hated._ " Chloe reminded the DJ, the two of them sharing the window seat. She glanced over at Aubrey. "Though, to be fair, Alice hated everybody. She just saved a special extra for you."

"What did you do?" Stacie asked, squeezing herself in the minuscule space between Aubrey and the couch's arm rest, pretty much ending up on Aubrey's lap.

"She hated me from the start." Aubrey shook her head. "I never knew why."

"And she made it worse when she dated the guy Alice liked." Chloe shared.

"That's cold, Aubrey." Stacie told her.

"I didn't know!" Aubrey said defensively. "I've never seen him talk to Alice, how should I have known?"

"And now you found the whiskey of legend, so Alice is probably burning you in effigy." Beca noted.

"Wait, who's Alice?" Jessica asked, confused.

"The Bellas captain last year." Denise answered. Alice was also the reason why she had waited until her sophomore year to audition for the Barden Bellas.

"And why is the whiskey legendary?" Ashley asked.

"Oh! I want to tell this story!" Chloe exclaimed. Eyes bright, belying the inebriation she was undoubtedly feeling — Chloe had always been somewhat of a lightweight with heavier liquor — she started telling the story of the mythical bottle of whiskey that only the Bellas captain that would lead the Bellas to national ICCA victory would ever find. It was a variant to the story Aubrey had told Beca, but it made the story seem more epic and magical, and made Aubrey — or maybe Beca, Aubrey couldn't tell with Chloe anymore — sound more magical in return.

Aubrey took another sip of water, and realized for the first time that she was leaning against Stacie's shoulder, and the freshman had her arm around her shoulders and was running her hand over her hair in an intimate, but calming, gesture. Her reaction, she knew, should have been to move away, but she was tired, and inebriated, and she was perfectly comfortable where she was. Aubrey turned her attention to Chloe, who had moved on to another Bellas anecdote.

Chloe, it seemed, was just brimming with stories, and watching the younger girls all listening attentively, Aubrey had a momentary flashback to her younger self, surrounded by the older Bellas, all telling her similar stories, and how much the Bellas had meant to her, even then. How the girls had become her family, even as it kept shrinking down in numbers of people she actually cared about.

And she was leaving behind the girl who had been beside her the whole time.

Aubrey sobered instantly, and reluctantly left the warmth of her Stacie cocoon, avoiding the confused expression on the girl's face, and excused herself. Aubrey made her hasty escape up the stairs, and being the one most familiar with the layout of the house, found the master bedroom, the only bedroom with its own bathroom, hoping to buy herself some time before anyone came to look for her.

 _Don't throw up, don't throw up._ Aubrey mentally chanted, gripping the sink tightly, trying to catch her breath. Out loud, however, she said something else. "Don't cry."

The problem was, she wasn't sure if she even _wanted_ to cry. When Chloe's name hadn't been in the roster of graduating students, Aubrey had been confused, because she knew several of Chloe's classmates, and none of them had ever expressed any concern over Chloe's academic performance. And Chloe certainly had never seemed to be too concerned about her grades, as she always been able to get by in her classes, breezing through them, even the more difficult subjects or under the strictest of professors.

She had known, instinctively, that Chloe's name being absent from potential graduates — pending the results of their final exams — had to be Chloe's doing. It was a choice, clearly, but Aubrey couldn't figure out the reasons _why_.

And on top of the confusion, there was a deep hurt, that Chloe hadn't even let her in on the decision, or the fact that Chloe not graduating threw a wrench in all their post-graduation plans.

As Beca had pointed out, they could still go to Cabo, and/or go backpacking, go on a road trip, spend the entire summer at Chloe's grandparents' beachside resort in Florida, do whatever the hell they wanted, like they had planned, and simply part ways at the end of the summer, Aubrey to any of the companies that offered her a job upon graduation, and Chloe back to Barden. They could still do all of that.

 _Every new person you meet,_ her father once told her, when her six-year-old self once mistakenly thought his question about how her school day went had been about the friends she'd met instead of what she had learned that day, _is to replace the ones you're gonna lose_.

"Aubrey?" There was a tentative knock on the closed bathroom door, before Chloe paused, surely listening for the telltale sounds of the flush that usually categorized Aubrey's hasty exits, but there was nothing. She knocked again. "Are you OK?"

No. "Yeah, just…" Aubrey took in a shaky breath, trying to gather her composure. "Just give me a minute?"

A pause, Chloe's hesitation clear even through the closed door. "Okay."

Chloe stepped away from the door, and briefly considered returning downstairs to the rest of the Bellas, now that their three missing members had returned with additional "supplies", including several more bottles of alcohol, and even some non-alcoholic drinks, but then again this was probably as good a time as any to talk to Aubrey. The redhead sat down on the single bed in the room, and glanced out the window, smiling at the unobstructed view from the room. The smile almost immediately faded to a thoughtful frown, as she wondered if she and Aubrey would have shared this room as co-captains, the way Laura and Penny had with their respective co-captains before the reign of Alice, if they had chosen to live here the past year.

 _Co-captains_. Chloe knew the other girls all thought Aubrey only called her that as a polite gesture, that as far as Aubrey was concerned, Chloe was only co-captain in name and title, but Chloe knew differently. She was supposed to have reeled Aubrey back in when Aubrey went too far, or ventured too close to the edge, and they had agreed on their roles as co-captains all the way back when they were freshmen, back when being Bellas captain was a mere glimmer of hope to either of them. Aubrey had always been the one with the discipline to lead and break down songs, but Chloe was the one with the ear and instinct for music and performance.

It wasn't Aubrey's fault that neither of them had foreseen what was going to happen in the ICCA Finals when they were juniors.

Chloe turned when she heard the bathroom door open, and for a long moment, she and Aubrey stared at each other, the weight of the undiscussed topic of the past few days weighing heavily in the room.

"You're not graduating." Aubrey said finally, breaking the silence.

Chloe sighed. "I'm too behind on my Russian Lit requirements."

Aubrey frowned in confusion. "If it's just a matter of submitting requirements…" She stopped suddenly as understanding dawned, and she chuckled bitterly. "So it's even worse than I thought."

Chloe _could_ graduate if she wanted to. She was just choosing not to.

"Aubrey…"

"Do I even want to know why?" Aubrey asked. "Or is that worse than I think, too?"

"I don't have job offers waiting for me when I graduate, Aubrey." Chloe pointed out. "I don't want to sit around trying to figure out what to do next for weeks, months."

"So you'd rather stay here, and sit around trying to figure that out for an extra year." Aubrey countered.

"That's not fair." Chloe shook her head, standing up. "I want to enjoy college some more, why is that so bad?"

"And you'll get to do that now, without your killjoy of a roommate, is that it?" Aubrey retorted.

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"Then explain it to me!" Aubrey exclaimed desperately. "Because I'm apparently too self-absorbed and conceited to figure it out myself!"

"I don't want to leave!" Chloe cut in, interrupting. She threw her hands up. "You've been so focused on winning, on the ICCAs, and I've been right there with you. And now that we've won, maybe that's enough for you, but it isn't for me: it's not just about winning anymore."

"Then join an a cappella group!" Aubrey pointed out. "It doesn't have to be the Barden Bellas!"

"Yes, it does!" Chloe argued. "They're our friends, Aubrey. They're _family_. And I'm not ready to let go of them yet."

Aubrey crossed her arms, glancing out the window, trying to decide if she wanted to voice what was was running through her mind, what was on the tip of her tongue, or if it was something she'd really rather not know for sure.

The part of her that was too confrontational for her own good won out.

She turned back to Chloe. In a quiet voice that was far more chilling than when she was shouting, asked, "All of them, or just Beca?"

Chloe stopped, the argument dying in her throat, because that was something that she and Aubrey never deliberately spoke about. Of course Aubrey knew her best friend had a crush, they had known each other for too long and too well to not recognize the signs, but they never talked about it. Chloe didn't know if Aubrey had just hoped the crush would burn itself out, or Aubrey suspected Chloe would never do anything about it, but it had always just been a lingering topic, one they both chose never to discuss.

When Chloe didn't answer, Aubrey let out a harsh, bitter laugh, and looked away. She should have known.

 _She should have known._

Because there had been something about Beca that had sparked something within Chloe, something more significant than the usual crush Chloe would have on anyone that struck her fancy. Because that spark was related to something that Alice, and later even Aubrey, had nearly snuffed out of the redhead: an unparallelled joy in music. Beca had made Chloe remember why she loved music so much, the way it could change lives, the way it could communicate far more than mere words or actions.

Aubrey turned to the window, turning her whole body towards the view, effectively ending the discussion, because she honestly had no idea what to say to Chloe anymore, and she was worried that if she kept talking she would say something she would regret, which made silence the safer option.

Chloe watched Aubrey effectively shut her out, and knew retreat was the safest recourse, at least for the moment. She hesitated, wanting to stay and bear whatever else Aubrey had to say, but realized that maybe her presence was only making things worse.


	3. Chapter 3

Aubrey kept her gaze fixed on some distant point outside the window, willing the night to end so she could leave the house without the guilt of ending the party abruptly; but she had not yet gained the superpower of teleportation, time travel, or moving the world according to her will, so really all she could do was look out the window and wait.

She didn't know how long she stood there, staring out the window, but at one point, she felt someone join her in the room, and she adjusted her focus enough to recognize Stacie's reflection join hers on the window. She regarded the tall brunette with some skepticism. "Did you draw the short straw?"

Stacie sighed. "What will it take for you to admit to yourself that maybe some of us want you around because we want to be around you?"

"Years of deprogramming." Aubrey quipped, but lost the casual tone when she saw Stacie's serious expression. "I'm sorry. I just…"

"A defense mechanism. I get it." Stacie concluded for her, nodding as she approached the blonde, joining her at the window. "You've been up here a while. Are you OK?"

Aubrey had no idea.

"Okay." Stacie conceded, realizing just how loaded the question probably was. She had watched Aubrey and Chloe avoid each other through most of the night, and she was sure she wasn't the only one who had wondered what was going on between the co-captains. Not to mention how they had all heard the raised voices when Aubrey and Chloe had been alone. She paused, trying to figure out what to say next, before noting, "So… that was intense."

Aubrey had always suspected how sound carried in the house. "Did you all hear?"

"Hear, yes. Listen…" Stacie winced, and admitted, "yes."

"Sorry." Aubrey hesitated, wondering if she was in any position to show concern, but ultimately couldn't help but ask: "Chloe?"

"Drinking with the girls." Stacie answered. "She wouldn't talk about it, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, you're her friends, she should be free to talk to you if she wants."

"And you?"

Aubrey tilted her head in question at the taller girl.

"Do _you_ want to talk about it?"

Aubrey sighed heavily, before reluctantly admitting, "Maybe a little."

And it was a victory, they both knew, given Aubrey's reticence to share beyond what she deemed strictly necessary (see: the existence of a Bella house of residence), or the fact that Stacie knew she wasn't exactly on top of anyone's list of people they shared their deep emotional issues with. But over the course of the year, somehow, a trust had developed between the two women, and they were putting that trust on the line now.

"Well, what was that about, anyway?" Stacie asked, hoping to prompt Aubrey into talking. "If you don't mind me asking."

Aubrey sighed again, leaning against the window frame, and faced Stacie. "Chloe's not graduating. And… I'm not taking it very well."

Stacie frowned. "Well… it's logical, right? You met as freshmen, so you naturally always thought there was going to be some kind of arc to your college life, ending in graduation."

Aubrey looked at her for a long beat, before she chuckled softly, shaking her head. " _Of course_ you'd get it."

Stacie looked confused, unsure if that comment had been sarcastic or honest.

Aubrey let out a frustrated huff of breath. "I want to be the supportive best friend, I do, and I know that's what she needs from me right now, but…" She let her voice trail off, unsure of how she wanted to finish that sentence. She eventually sighed. "I don't want to have to lie."

"Then don't lie."

Aubrey gave her a dire look. "She isn't even willing to try and graduate. I can't very well support that decision, Stacie."

Stacie smiled patiently, taking Aubrey's hand as a means of grounding her. "Just be her friend, Aubrey. She already knows you don't… _approve_ , or whatever, but maybe she just needs to be reminded you'll still be her friend, no matter what."

Aubrey glanced down at their joined hands, then back up at Stacie. "Of course I'll still be her friend."

"Then tell her that." Stacie paused, hesitating briefly before adding, "Maybe _some of us_ are actually worried that when you graduate we'll just be the people you left behind, you know."

Aubrey furrowed her brow, contemplating, but wasn't sure how to address that certain point. It would be easy, to say otherwise, but she also knew from experience it was just as easy to forget even the most important of people.

Stacie sighed, realizing Aubrey wasn't going to confirm or deny her subtle accusation. Under her breath, but still audible enough for Aubrey to hear, she muttered, "Some sign you actually care would be great right now."

Aubrey glanced up at her in concern, but instead of delving into the implications of that accusation, Stacie gave her a coy grin, momentarily throwing the older girl off her train of thought. Aubrey had no idea why Stacie was throwing such snide asides at her at that moment, and wanted to engage, but at the same time she knew she shouldn't. And for reasons she couldn't explain, was pretty certain Stacie knew why they weren't going to, either. So the accusation lingered between them, but both women knew what was a more important matter for the moment.

Aubrey exhaled, and nodded in resignation.

"You should talk to her." Stacie offered gently. "It can't be that bad."

"Yeah. Okay." Aubrey whispered, knowing Stacie was right. Contemplatively, she lifted their hands, and idly played with Stacie's fingers with her own, while she considered exactly what the implications were of doing what Stacie was telling her she should do.

"Can I ask you a question?" Stacie asked, after a lengthy pause, when she realized Aubrey wasn't going to add to that thought.

Aubrey nodded.

"Does Chloe at least have a reason?" Stacie asked curiously.

"She says she does, and I'm sure it makes sense to her."

"But you don't believe her." Stacie surmised.

"That's the problem." Aubrey gave her a wry smile. "I actually do."

Whatever Stacie was about to say was cut off by a sudden noise in the hallway, and they both turned, the noise interrupting their conversation and prompting them to jerk their hands apart, as they watched Beca stumble into the room. "Sorry. Sorry." Beca pointed behind her. "There was a wall. And, uh, we thought Stacie was gonna check if Aubrey was still here, and when she didn't come back we wondered what happened; if Aubrey was still up here or if she knew of a hidden passageway out."

"And they sent you?" Stacie asked curiously.

"Everyone else is doing shooters with Chloe. Or passing out." Beca informed them, unsteadily taking a seat on the nearby bed. "I think I'm drunk. Someone thought whiskey and tequila go together." She groaned. "Can you get drunk from whiskey shots?"

"It's like the fastest way to get drunk on whiskey." Stacie informed her.

"Yeah? Tell that to Aubrey." Beca squinted at the two of them, then blinked when her gaze focused on Aubrey. "Oh hey, there you are." She squinted at the blonde. "Are you as drunk as I am?"

"No."

"That sucks." Beca frowned. "Weren't we having shots, how'd that happen?"

"Nobody asked you to try and drink more than me." Aubrey told her. "Plus, you're tiny."

"Yeah, too late for the lack of compassion there, Blondie Bear." Beca told her, before she paused, furrowing her brow. She stopped and gave herself a moment to run over what she had just said, and a look of consternation and confusion crossed her features. She turned to Stacie. "Did I just call Aubrey Blondie Bear?"

Stacie giggled. "You're so drunk."

"I think you could be right." Beca agreed. She pointed at Aubrey. "You. You need to fix stuff with Chloe. You don't get to make Chloe sad."

Aubrey looked at Beca with some amusement. "What're you going to do about it, Beca?"

Beca looked deep in thought. "I…" She frowned. "I'm gonna get back to you on that, but I'm gonna come up with something. _Oh yes_. Something threatening. And awesome." She shook her head, but then abruptly stopped. "Whoa, _no_. God, I'm so drunk."

"Why don't you lie down?" Aubrey suggested.

"Yeah." Beca nodded, and abruptly stood up from the bed, turned, and marched out the room.

Aubrey and Stacie watched curiously as Beca left the room, and their gazes followed Beca's progress as she walked down the hall, into a room on the opposite end, and disappeared behind a door.

Aubrey blew out a breath. She turned to Stacie with an expression that was a mix of exasperation, and fond amusement. "I'm leaving the Bellas in _those_ capable hands."

"And your best friend." Stacie reminded.

"Chloe would let all of you do whatever the heck you wanted, given the choice." Aubrey grumbled.

Stacie paused, briefly debating on whether or not she would regret what she was going to say next, before she spoke again. "That's not what I meant."

Aubrey gave her a wry smile. "I know what you meant."

"That's part of why Chloe's staying, isn't it? Beca?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Stacie smiled weakly, because they both knew the answer was yes. "The first step is admitting you're powerless, Aubrey."

Aubrey returned her smile. "My best friend is in love with that mess."

"Chloe does seem to have a weakness for a hot mess." Stacie quipped, setting Aubrey up for the obvious rejoinder.

Aubrey laughed softly, taking the bait. "Look at who her best friend is."

Stacie laughed as well, eventually letting her grin fade to a soft smile as she offered what she hoped would be a helpful insight into the human condition. "People do stupid things for the people they like, Aubrey."

"Sure." Aubrey agreed, but also scoffed the dubiousness of Stacie's assertion. "I doubt you've done anything as stupid as fail a class to spend an extra year in college for a crush."

"I don't know," Stacie said slowly, taking a deep breath. She had one last card to play, and she really hoped Aubrey didn't dismiss this one, either. "Does auditioning for an a cappella group when you've never sung in public outside of karaoke count?"

"Stacie…" Aubrey sighed, the heaviness of it telling Stacie all she needed to know. Aubrey glanced down briefly before gazing back up, allowing Stacie to see in her eyes that the words had made their impact, that the temptation Stacie was offering her was a reprieve from the turmoil of the night, even if it implied its own complications. "Don't start something we know we can't follow through."

Stacie smiled faintly. "Then maybe I'm sober enough to _not_ start something with you tonight."

Elsewhere and later on, after she'd fallen asleep and woken up to a quiet house full of sleeping Bellas, and with no idea how long she had been sitting outside, Chloe sat alone in the darkness of the night, letting the cool night air sober her up and wake up her system. All she knew was that it was the first time she'd actually drunk herself to a stupor enough to fall asleep, because through four years of college, Aubrey had always managed to find her just when she'd passed the point of tipsy to drunk, and tonight was the first time she'd gone drinking without Aubrey as a safety net.

And she was just going to have to get used to that.

As if her thoughts had conjured the blonde, Chloe watched from her seat as Aubrey opened the front door, carefully closing the door as she stepped out of the house. After Beca's drunken ramble earlier about Aubrey's apparent intent to leave the Bellas as soon as she graduated, without even saying goodbye, and how thankful she was that they showed up – although Chloe wasn't sure if Beca had been talking to her, the Bellas in general, or the bottle of whiskey that Aubrey had found in the house – Chloe couldn't put it past Aubrey to just ghost on the Barden Bellas. And the very thought made Chloe feel a spike of anger towards the blonde.

"You're really just gonna leave?"

She watched Aubrey stiffen, before the blonde took a deep breath, as if bracing herself for the confrontation, and turned to lean against the door jamb. Her gaze found Chloe, who sat against one of the pillars by the house's front steps. "That's not what's happening."

"Oh, so you weren't about to sneak off into the good night without saying goodbye to your friends?" Chloe accused, her voice a strange mix of anger and confusion, a tone she knew Aubrey had probably never heard before. She knew she had her own faults, sure, she had avoided Aubrey when she had first decided not to graduate, knowing she didn't have the fortitude to face Aubrey's anger or disappointment, but she had always intended to face the issue inevitably. She wasn't the one sneaking off in the middle of the night without a word.

Aubrey frowned, her confusion evident. "We still have finals week, and everyone knows where our dorm room is."

Chloe glared at her. "That's not the point!"

Aubrey pushed off the door and took a seat on the steps in a conciliatory manner, facing Chloe. "Chloe."

"I mean, I get you're angry with me, but those girls deserve better than for you to just…" Chloe shook her head, her anger fading to disappointment and hurt. "And Stacie? Don't think I didn't notice her sneak off upstairs and never came back. We had to send three people up to check on either of you, and only Ashley came back to report." She paused, and frowned, and asked: "What happened to Beca and Denise?"

"Asleep." Aubrey answered, and worried briefly why neither she nor Stacie registered Denise coming to check on them. Stacie had already fallen asleep when Ashley came up to check in, right before Aubrey took her own nap.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, closely scrutinizing her best friend, even in the darkness and lit only by the light coming through the windows from inside the house. More curious than anything else, she had to ask: "Did you and Stacie actually do it in a house full of your friends?"

"No." Aubrey said simply, resigned to Chloe knowing her secrets; because just as Aubrey knew of Chloe's crush on Beca, Chloe knew why Aubrey didn't mind Stacie's proximity and tactile tendency too much. Changing the subject, because she did not want to examine too closely the implications of her tryst, Aubrey motioned over her shoulder in the direction of the door, where several of the Bellas were asleep in the living room. "You're surrounded by lightweights."

"I know." Chloe agreed, understanding the deliberate change of subject for what it was. "I thought Amy or Lilly would have a higher alcohol tolerance than they do."

Aubrey paused, then frowned. "I didn't see Lilly."

Chloe also frowned, and they both wondered if either of them were sober enough to launch a manhunt for their elusive member. Shaking her head, because her answer was no, Chloe reached for her side and lifted the now-familiar bottle of whiskey. "I always thought this was a myth."

"Honestly? I think they found the real bottle a long time ago and just replace it to keep the story alive." Aubrey admitted, taking the bottle from Chloe and examining it.

"Yeah, but don't you think it's weird, that you found this bottle when Alice almost tore the house apart last year looking for it?"

"Well, according to your version of the story, it's stuff of legend, and according to Beca, it's 'magical'." Aubrey told her.

Chloe paused at the mention of Beca, briefly lowering her gaze to the bottle in Aubrey's hands, remembering her surprise earlier that day when she had received a text message from Beca for the Barden Bellas to meet at an address that Chloe had known was the Bella house. When she had bailed on the captains' meeting hoping to avoid spending time with Aubrey, she hadn't known that Aubrey had gotten word from the school that it was once again permanently approved as the Bellas' residence. Which was nothing to say of her surprise when she'd gotten to the house to find Beca and Aubrey sharing whiskey shots.

She sighed, and lifted her gaze once more to meet Aubrey's. "I won't apologize."

There was a pause, which had Chloe bracing herself for the same onslaught of accusation from earlier that night, but instead Aubrey just said, "You shouldn't have to."

Chloe blinked, surprised.

"Do I think you're making the right decision? No. But it's your life." Aubrey sighed, and laughed softly. "I mean, I'm sitting here, and I might go on to regret it, but I'm _choosing_ not to start anything with Stacie when it's really easy to make a mess of it given where we both are right now. So if you think staying for another year is something you need to do, then I won't stop you."

Chloe hesitated, then admitted: "I just want to be sure."

"But how can you _know_ , when you won't even tell her how you feel?"

"She's with someone now."

Aubrey scoffed. "But he's a Treblemaker."

"She dedicated one of our songs in the Finals to him."

Aubrey considered that point, and conceded a momentary defeat. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Shouldn't be that my choice?" Chloe asked.

"I guess it is." Aubrey conceded. She looked up at Chloe, almost apologetically. "They all heard the fight, by the way."

"I know." Chloe made a face as she leaned back against the pillar behind her. "Fat Amy said nobody likes hearing Mom and Dad fight."

They looked at each other with matching irked expressions.

"I guess I'm obviously Dad in this scenario." Aubrey muttered.

"Do I _look_ like a Mom?" Chloe retorted in annoyance.

"Well, you _are_ getting the kids in the separation." Aubrey noted.

"And you've hooked up with a younger woman before it's even final." Chloe remarked. She reached forward, and took the bottle from Aubrey, uncapped it, and lifted it in a toast. "To Aubrey. Soon to be graduate, finder of lost whiskey bottles of myth and legend." She smiled at the blonde. "My best friend, who should have gotten laid when she had the chance."

"I don't think you should be drinking straight from the bottle." Aubrey warned, watching Chloe take a sip from the bottle.

Chloe made a face at the taste, but quickly recovered to give Aubrey a poignant look. "You're graduating. You just hooked up with the girl you've been crushing on the whole year, _and_ with the ICCA victory and finding this bottle, you've proven you're better than Alice twice over. Live a little."

Aubrey still hesitated, but eventually nodded, taking the whiskey from Chloe. "To Chloe," Aubrey returned, lifting the bottle and smiling patronizingly at the redhead, "Who finds duet partners in showers and thinks the bathroom is a suitable place to practice harmonizing when all you want to do is wash your hair."

"You know you loved it."

"Who continues to live in denial of the fact that not everybody wants to sleep with her."

Chloe paused, frowning deeply at what Aubrey had just said. "Do you think she just doesn't find me attractive?"

"Do you think that maybe since your first encounter was in the shower that she just doesn't know if she wants to see you naked or uncomfortable that she already has without even buying you dinner first?"

Chloe's eyes widened in mortification.

"Yeah, apparently people do stupid things when it comes to the people we like." Aubrey told her in an attempt at being reassuring.

Chloe groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I hate having been raised by hippies."

"You were raised by child psychologists."

"Even worse." Chloe groaned into her hands. Her parents were actually hippies _and_ psychologists, who subscribed to a laissez-faire approach to child-rearing, which meant Chloe and her siblings had grown up with few limits set upon them, and in Chloe's case, making her as carefree and reckless as she could be.

It was a wonder how she and Aubrey got along at all, but their dynamic was pretty straightforward: Chloe made sure Aubrey took a deep breath and stepped away from the metaphorical edge, while Aubrey made sure Chloe didn't free fall herself into one catastrophe after another. And it had worked for them, pretty much, for four years.

"This is why people decide to never drink again." Aubrey muttered, after she took a sip of the whiskey. She took her time, letting the effects of the alcohol wash through her, but eventually looked back at Chloe. With a deep sigh, she tentatively started, "You know, you can head home right after exams, spend a few extra days with your family before the Bellas' ICCA tour."

"What – oh right. I forgot about that." Chloe glanced at her. "I guess Cabo's out of the question."

"And I already accepted Chicago."

Chloe frowned. "When?"

"Week after graduation."

"Why?"

"I was angry?" Aubrey hedged, because she had accepted the job offer on a knee-jerk reaction to Chloe not graduating. If Chloe could upend all their graduation plans, she had not-quite-reasoned, Aubrey could do the same. "It had the highest salary and best career progression offer?"

"What about the tour?"

"You can promote Jessica to lead." Aubrey mused. "The choreography would have to be reworked, but vocally, the changes should be minimal."

Chloe paused, giving it some thought, then finally looked at Aubrey and told her earnestly, "I'll stay for graduation, Aubrey."

"Chloe."

"I know you're trying to make me avoid the awkwardness of watching so many of my friends and classmates graduating when I'm not, but _you're graduating_." Chloe pointed out. "And I'm not missing that for the world."

"You're sure?" Aubrey asked, hope coloring her voice.

Chloe smiled at her, leaning forward to squeeze Aubrey's hand. "Where else would I be?"

Aubrey smiled back at Chloe, and lifted the bottle in a toast that hearkened back to their days when they were freshmen, and back when they could only really rely on each other. "You and me."

Chloe waited until Aubrey finished drinking, before taking back the bottle and echoing Aubrey's sentiment. "You and me."

"Are you nerds still drinking?"

They both turned to the open doorway, where Beca stood, frowning down at them. "Seriously, everyone's passed out and how are you still drinking?"

"We're drinking _again_." Aubrey corrected.

Beca glanced at Aubrey, then at Chloe, and back to the blonde. "So you're friends again?"

"Of course we are." Chloe answered for Aubrey. "Aubrey won't ever get rid of me."

"I really can't." Aubrey nodded in confirmation.

"Because Chaubrey is forever." Chloe added.

Beca glanced in amusement at Aubrey. "She calls you two _Chaubrey_?"

"Like I said," Aubrey spared a glance at Chloe, "I can't get rid of her."

"But why would you even want to." Chloe retorted. "When you get the sex for free."

Aubrey turned back to Beca. "And there was a blood pact."

Beca paused, then shook her head. "Either I'm still drunk, or your stories are so messed up I don't even know if you're telling the truth or shitting me anymore."

"Would we do that." Chloe said innocently. She motioned Beca forward to join them, and after a moment's hesitation, Aubrey did the same.

Beca frowned at the two, briefly considered her options, before she closed the door behind her and sat down close to the edge of the exterior entryway, away from the steps, and facing Chloe. She frowned suddenly. "Wait, there's free sex?"

Chloe burst out laughing, while Aubrey frowned at Beca. "Really?"

Beca looked deeply troubled. "Have you two-"

"No!" Aubrey and Chloe exclaimed together. They exchanged affronted expressions at the fact that the other would react so vehemently at the suggestion, before they both turned back to Beca.

"I've tried, and tried, but Blondie here is impossible to get into bed." Chloe said.

"And I don't sleep with redheads who call me Blondie." Aubrey added.

Beca squinted at them, trying to gauge how much of their answers were sincere and how much were wry quips, but then decided she just wasn't sober enough for this discussion. She turned to the redhead. "You're really not graduating?"

Chloe shook her head.

"But _why_?" Beca asked, surprised. Why would anyone voluntarily stay longer than necessary in college, in _Georgia_?

Aubrey and Chloe shared a glance, before Aubrey turned to answer Beca. "It's your fault." Almost immediately, she glared at Chloe, who had extended her heretofore folded leg, and kicked her. "What the hell, Chloe?"

"Involuntary muscle spasm?" Chloe hazarded. She gave Aubrey a look of warning, because she loved Aubrey, she did, but if the blonde went and took matters in her own hands and told Beca the real reason why she was staying another year, Aubrey would not live to graduate.

"Because of giving you back _the joy of music and performing_." Aubrey returned Chloe's warning glare with one of her own, as if challenging Chloe from the thought of ever doubting her loyalty. Addressing Beca even as she glared at Chloe, she advised, "So make sure neither of you lose sight of that, and watch out for each other."

Beca's eyes darted between the two older girls, trying to figure out why they were glaring at each other in an obvious silent conversation different from the one they were actually verbalizing, before she concluded, yet again, that she wasn't nearly sober enough for this. "Because she's my co-captain?"

"Oh, _wow_ , that's such a _major_ proposition." Chloe gushed, exaggeratedly, breaking her glare-off with Aubrey to turn and face the younger girl. "I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of commitment with you, Beca, and you really should ask a lady first."

Beca blushed, even as she observed, "You _have_ seen me naked, so _that's_ a major commitment."

Aubrey eyed the exchange skeptically, wondering how it was possible Chloe could question whether or not Beca was attracted to her. And did Beca really not realize the flirt signals she was communicating to the redhead?

"Wait, what?" Beca stopped, as if suddenly startled, and frowned at Chloe. "You're staying because you want to keep being a Bella?"

"Plus she failed Russian Lit." Aubrey added quickly, because _damn_ Beca was pretty sharp even when barely-sober, if a little slow. "She didn't realize the stories were so depressing."

"And so long." Chloe appended, before she remembered that half of her assigned reading were _short stories_. Well, what the hell. Hopefully none of the Bellas were going to take Russian Lit any time soon. Quickly, she name-checked one of the writers they covered intensively: "That Chekhov, he's _such_ a writer."

"Didn't Chekhov write plays?" Beca asked, confused.

Chloe stared at her, then at Aubrey, who had covered her eyes with her hands, unable to meet Chloe's gaze, her shoulders already shaking in amusement. Chloe wished she had a paper cup – or anything, really – to throw at her best friend. She turned back to Beca, who looked back at her as if expecting an in-depth analysis of Chekhov's plays off the top of her head.

Before Chloe could come up with an answer, Aubrey sighed deeply, breaking the stand-off, and rubbed her face with her hand. "I think the alcohol's kicking in."

Chloe smiled at the obvious reprieve – because her best friend was _awesome_ like that, when she chose to be – and got to her feet. She pat Aubrey's shoulder as she passed her to head back into the house. "I'll go get you water."

Aubrey smiled gratefully, and watched her disappear behind the front door.

Beca watched Chloe leave, but her attention switched to Aubrey's expression as Chloe walked past, leaving the two of them behind. Because the moment the door closed behind Chloe, Aubrey's lighthearted and inebriated expression faltered to something sadder, more akin to the blonde's expression earlier that afternoon when she had expressed her frustration over Chloe not graduating.

Softly, the short brunette offered, "She'll be OK, you know."

Aubrey glanced at the door for a beat longer, before she turned to face Beca. "No, I don't know that." She sighed. "I know she puts on a brave front, and I know she'll prioritize everyone else before herself, and I won't be _here_ , so trust me, I have every reason to be worried."

"Maybe you won't be, but she'll have me." Beca reminded. Before Aubrey could react to that, she continued. "And Stacie. And Amy. Lilly, Jessica. She has us. The Bellas. All of us. We'll watch out for her."

Aubrey looked at her, studying Beca closely, wondering if Beca could really be this oblivious or in denial, and _why_ couldn't she just confront Beca into realizing why Chloe was really staying.

"So, you know," Beca tentatively reached out, and timidly and awkwardly pat Aubrey's shoulder. "It'll be OK. I know there's something you're not telling me about why she's not graduating, but whatever it is, she'll be fine. It's not the end of the world. And it's just an extra year, right? She'll figure it out before you know it."

Aubrey wanted to laugh. Or cry. Or punch Beca in the face. Because, really, how could someone so in tune with Chloe and be on the redhead's wavelength get her so completely wrong? Instead, she took a deep breath and faced Beca, meeting her gaze seriously. "Remember what I said earlier?"

"I don't know, Aubrey, you said, like, a ton of things."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "About being captain."

Beca nodded. "Don't screw up."

" _Be better_." Aubrey added. She motioned to the front door. "Chloe: She'll pick up our slack, she'll do what it takes to make everyone feel like everything's OK, even when it's not." _Even when_ she's _not,_ Aubrey thought, but didn't verbalize, because some things were still sacred between best friends. "And I missed it. I screwed up. So—" Aubrey cut herself short as the door suddenly opened and Chloe returned to the front steps, squeezing herself in the space between Aubrey and Beca.

Chloe handed Aubrey a bottle of water, and smiled at her two friends, noticing Beca's troubled look and Aubrey's pensive one. She frowned. "What did I miss?"

"Beca's an Undeclared Major." Aubrey told her swiftly, not missing a beat. "I was trying to give her career advice."

Chloe glanced at Beca, who was staring at Aubrey. "Really? You still haven't chosen a major?"

"Yeah." Beca continued to stare at Aubrey, because the girl was just blowing her mind since they met that afternoon, with the coffee cart of decent coffee, the shortcut, the bottle of whiskey, and now this? How did she _know_?

On her part, Aubrey ignored Beca's wondrous stare and wondered if the freshman had forgotten that she had filled out a registration form for the Bellas that distinctly stated her Undeclared status, and that as head of the student organization to which Beca was a part of, Aubrey had access to check if there were changes in Beca's academic status.

Chloe turned, and rest her chin on Aubrey's shoulder, grinning at the blonde. "Not everyone knew they wanted to be CEO or Head of the Federal Reserve since they were kids, Aubrey."

Beca frowned. "The Federal Reserve?"

Chloe turned to Beca. "She's very weird with her ambitions."

"Why stop there, why not just be President?" Beca questioned.

"Because yelling at local and foreign leaders isn't very diplomatic." Chloe teased her best friend, who tried to move away from her, but not successfully. "Maybe you should try for Secretary of State: slightly less pressure."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "You know I can't be Secretary of State because I'd exaggerate a local conflict for every place you're heading off to on your concert tour or charitable crusade so there'll be a travel warning and prevent you from ever leaving the country."

Chloe grinned, and pecked Aubrey's cheek soundly before she relented, leaning against the back of Aubrey's shoulder as she turned to face Beca. "She's very protective."

Beca regarded them both, at Aubrey who had laced her fingers with Chloe's, and Chloe who was resting her weight against her best friend's back. "I'm getting that."

Chloe pulled back, and turned to face Aubrey, gazing thoughtfully at the blonde with a wistful smile. "I bet you're gonna be great, whatever you do."

Aubrey smiled, and glanced at her. "Yeah?"

"Absolutely." Chloe nodded. "Just, you know, don't throw up all over your fawning audience."

Aubrey laughed softly. "I'll try."

Chloe laughed as well, and rest her head on Aubrey's shoulder again. "What am I going to do without you?"

"Have fun?" Beca muttered dryly, yelping when Chloe swat her in the arm with her free hand.

Aubrey lowered her gaze, before glancing beside her, her gaze momentarily looking past Chloe at Beca, before flicking back to Chloe. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you're going to be amazing." She smiled at Chloe. "And, I, for one, can't wait to see what you'll do next."

It was, they knew, as good a promise as any, that they would still be in each other's lives even after they parted ways. Things weren't completely fixed between them, and they were both aware of the cracks in their friendship, but the distance and enmity of the past week was no longer as prevalent as it had been.

But it was OK. They were Bellas, Bellas were family, and being part of the Barden Bellas was for life.

Even when they were going to be hundreds of miles apart.

Beca, who had preoccupied herself with trying to read the label on the bottle of whiskey, suddenly looked up to turn and look at Aubrey. "Holy shit."

The two other girls on the steps turned to stare at her at the surprise expletive.

Beca stared at Aubrey. "Maybe I'm just drunk, but I think I'm gonna miss you when you're gone."

"You better." Aubrey retorted.

Chloe wrapped her arms around either girl's shoulders, and squeezed them tightly. "See? Isn't it better when we're all friends? I knew you two could get along."

* * *

The End.

* * *

 _Thank you, readers, for all the views, the reviews, those who favored and followed this story. It is, as always, very much appreciated._


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